Detachable and foldable container carrier



July 12, 1960 DETACHABLE AND FOLDABLE CONTAINER CARRIER Filed 001;. 7,1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F I G l INVENTOR.

A TTORNEY July 12, 1960 F. A. BEACH DETACHABLE AND FOLDABLE CONTAINERCARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 7, 1957 INVENTOR.

FRANK A. BEACH ATTORNEY bErAcHABLE ANDFOLDABLE c NTAINER' V CARRIER aFrank A. Beach, Rte. 1, Box 152, Three Rivers, Mich. Filed Oct. 7,19s7,s r. No. 688,634 s Claims. (or. 224- 45 The present inventionrelates to container carrying devices, and more particularly-to adetachable and foldable carrying device for beverage cases, boxes andcartons, having finger slots or, handles on the ends or sides for use inlifting the container. 7

In loading, delivering and unloading beverage cases, boxes, cartons andthe like, the delivery or service man normally uses finger slots orattached handles for lifting and carrying the containers These arenotonly often inconvenient to use and require the use of both hands foreach container, but the number of containers which can Referringmorespecifically to the drawings, my container carrierx10 is shown mountedinlifting and carrying position on a beverage container12, such as a beercase, having a finger slot 14 in each end panel 16 of the container. Thecarrier is provided with two arms 18 and 20 each having an inturned endportion 22 forming arhook 23 for slipping into the finger slots of thecontainer and grasping the upper edge thereof when the carrier is liftedupwardly to move the container. In order to prevent the container fromrocking or slipping sidewise the arms are made of flat, relatively broadmaterial so that a substantial portion of the upper edge of the fingerslots is in contact with the hook. This broad construction of the armsnot only assists centering of the hooks in the finger slots but alsoeliminates the need for placing the hook exactly in the center of theslot to avoid'sidewise tilting of the container while it is beingcarried. The arms are constructed of metal, preferably of relativelyheavy gauge sheet metal. 7 Theupper part 24 of each arm 18 and 20 isturned inwardly toward the center at a substantial angle and isconnected with the other arm by a flexible cable, rope, chain orflexible metal band 26 secured firmly at its ends to part beconveniently lifted and carried is usually limited to a singlecontainer. Various types of detachable handles which permit lifting and.carrying of a container in each hand have been employed, but these areusually inconvenient, bulky and awkward to carry on theperson when notin use, It is therefore one of the principal objects of the presentinvention to provide aone handedcarrying device for beverage cases,boxes, crates and cartons normally carried by the use of a hand at eachend, which permits the container to be easily carried with one hand andwhich can be readily attached to and detached from C the container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a small that itcan be placed andsealed in the conventional containers for beer and softdrinks and made readily available for use when the container is opened.3 i

' A further object is to provide an easily used and relativelyinexpensive carrier for-a container, which is of such construction andshape that one or more areas of substantial size, areavailable foradvertisingmaterial, slogans, trademarksand namesf" Additional objectsand advantages will become ap parent from the following description andaccompanying drawings, wherein: r. V e

.Figure l'is a perspective view of 1a, beveragecasehaving fingerslotsinthe. end inwhich my container carrier has been insertedforlifting, and carrying the case; Figure 2 isa side elevational view of aslightly modified form of my container carrier shown in its extendedcontainer engaging position; T

Figure 3 is another side elevational view of my con- 24. The height ofthe arm between hook 23 and part 24 is preferably greater than thedistance between the top of the finger slot and the top of thecontainer. A suitable means of securingthe flexible member 26 to thearms is shown in the drawings consisting of two closely spaced holes-28and 30 vertically arranged 'in part 24. Hole 28 is round and the metalremoved to form the hole is completely severed from material surroundingthe hole, whereas hole 30 is crescent shaped and a tongue 32 of metalformed from the material partially severed from the material surroundingthe hole extends downwardly beside and under the hole. The end offlexible member 26 is threaded throughthe holes, starting first from theunder side of part I 24, throughhole 28, thence along-the top ofpart-24, and then downwardly through hole 30 until a substantial tailis' provided below hole 30. While the end of flexible member 26 is inthis position in the holes, tongue 32 is pressed inwardly toward hole 30until it firmly engages member 26 and grips said member with sufficientforce to prevent it from slipping from the holes when the carrier isused to lift a container. "By threading the flexible member through thetwo holes, a large portion of the force tending to pull the member fromthe holes is applied at hole 28 rather than on tongue 32 or at hole 30,thus not only making a firm connection between the flexible member andarms 18 and 20 but also preventing concentration of forces at any singlepoint which might cut or otherwise damage the flexible member; It isnoted that the free end 7 of the tongue points in the direction oppositefrom the forces applied to the flexible member tending topull it fromthe holes when the container is lifted. This position of the'tongueforms a distinct edge for engaging the flexible member and causes thetongue to be" urged toward hole 30 to increase its-gripping actiononmember 26 with an increase of weight on the carrier.

A handle 36 is assembled on flexible member 26- at the center to providea convenient hand grip for the one carrying the container. This handlewhichmay be construct'ed' of wood, metaLrubberor plastic is'providedwith a longitudinal center hole 38 for receiving the flexible member andis secured in place at the center of said tainercarrier shown in itsfolded position for inserting in the service mans coat or pants pocket;

Figure 4 is an end view of my container'carrier;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of one of the end members ofthe carrier; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the end member shownin Figure 5.

member by cementing the'member in the hole or by grommets'or lugs on theflexible member at each end of the handle. Instead of using a continuousflexible member between arms 18 and 20, two sections 40 and 42 of themember may be separate, the outer end of each section being connected tothe arms in the manner de scribed above for the continuous member andthe inner end ofeach section being connected to the handle by looping itthrough holes in the respective ends of the handle.

One of the special advantages of the present container carrier is itsability to fold into a small unit which can easily be placed in a coator pants pocket or carried on the delivery manzs belt. The manner inwhich the carrier is folded into this compact unit is illustrated inFigure 3. The shape of the arms is suchthat they nestle together orintermesh and the handle lies in or assumes a position along: the curvedportion of the arms with the flexible member folded, so that all of thememberscornprisin-g the carrier occupy little more space than thatoccupied by one of the arms. Also, with the arms 'intermes-hed they canbe easily hooked over the belt and easily car ried by the delivery manwithout any interference from protruding partsof the carrier; When thecarrier is to be used it is unfolded and the hooks on each arm slippedin the finger slots of the container where they will remain firmlygrasping the container as long' as the container is being lifted andcarried. By the use of the present carrier a container can be carried ineach hand and each carrier released from the container by a one handedoperation. When the container isset down and the carrier relaxed, hooks23 will automatically disengage themselves by their own- Weight from thecontainer, and the carrier can be lifted from the container with merelythe use of one hand.

The present container carrying device can be folded into its compactposition and placed in the container for delivery to the wholesaler orretailer where it can be removed and used or can be used by the ultimateconsumer for transporting the container. Due to its simplicity thecarrier can be fabricated at a low cost and distributed along. with thecontainer as an advertising medium. The relatively large flat section ofeach arm forms suitable surfaces for advertisement, slogans andtrademarks.

As a modification of the previously described structure, a coil spring,rubber band or other type resilient member 44- is attached at each endto arms 18 and 20', preferably to part 24 of each arm, in order to holdthe arms in place on a container with hooks 23 in the finger slots, whenflexible cable 26 is released by the onecarrying the container. Theresilient connecting member 44 shown in Figure 2 consists of a rubberband attached to tongues 32 and is sufliciently strong that it will pullarms 18 and 26 against the top of the container. In its non-extendedcondition it is somewhat shorter than the length of the container,though it will readily stretch to permit the arms to be inserted in andremoved from the finger slots of the container. This member prevents thearms from dropping down to the point where the books will becomedisengaged. It does not, however, interfere with the intentional removalofthe arms from the finger slots and folding of the carrier into.acompact unit for carrying.

In the dependent claims when the term slot or finger slot is usedorreferred to, it embraces both the slots in the endsof the container"and/or. the handles attached to the' ends. While a-few variations havebeen mentioned herein, various other changes and modification may bemade without departing from the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A detachable and foldable carrier for containers 4% having opposedfinger slots on the opposite sides thereof for lifting the containers,comprising two arms for nesting with each other when the carrier is infolded position, each consisting of flat broad metal material and havingan inwardly extending hook-like lower portion for engaging the portionof the container defining the finger slots and inwardly slanting upperportion with upper and lower longitudinally spaced holes therethrough, atongue attached integrally to said upper portion adjacent the upper sideof said lower hole and extending under said lower hole, a flexiblemember each end of which is threaded through said holes in one of saidarms and secured therein by said tongues,and a substantially cylindricalhandle with a longitudinal hole therethrough for receiving said memberbeing secured to said member and spaced equally from said arms, saidhandle being shorter than said arms and said flexible member on eitherside of said handle being longer than the handle.

2-. A detachable and foldable' carrier for containers having opposedfinger slots for lifting the containers, comprising two arms for nestingwith each other when the carrier is in folded position, each having aninwardly extending hook-like lower portion for engaging the por tion ofthe container defining the finger slots and inwardly extending upperportion with upper and lower longitudinally spaced holes therethrough,highly flexible resilient means connecting said arms, a tongue attachedintegrally to said upper portion adjacent the upper-side of said lowerhole and extending under said lower hole, a flexible foldabl'e membereach end of which is threaded through said holes in' one of said armsand gripped by said tongues, and a handle on said flexible membersecured to 'said member at the center thereof, said handle being shorterthan said arms and said flexible member on either side of said handlebeing longer than the handle;

3 A detachable and foldable carrier for containers having opposed fingerslots on the opposite sides thereof for lifting the containers,comprising two anns for nesting with each other when the carrier is infolded position, each consisting of flat broad metal material and havingan inwardly extending hook-like lower portion for engaging' the portionof the container defining the finger slots and inwardly slanting upperportion with upper and lower longitudinally spaced holes therethrough, atongue attached integral-1y to" said upper portion adjacent the upperside of said lower hole and extending under said lower hole, a fold'ablerubber band attached to and connecting the upper portion of said armsand being shorter in length than the container to becarried, a flexiblefoldable member each end of whieh'is threaded through said holes in oneof said arms and secured therein: by said tongues, and a substantiallycylindrical handle" with a longitudinalhole therethrough forreceivingsaid me'rnber being secured to said member and spaced equ'allyfrom said arms.

References Cited in the file" of this patent UNITED STATES PATEIITS

